North records 67.8 per cent poverty, 70 per cent unemployment —Don

A university lecturer, Dr Suleiman Ndanusa, has postulated that the rates of poverty in the  19 Northern states stood  at 67.8 per cent, while 70 per cent of its 92.7 million active population   are unemployed.

He made this known while  delivering a keynote address at the ‘Summit for the Security and Development of Northern Nigeria’ organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation  in Kaduna .

Suleiman said with insignificant internally generated revenue despite finding oil in Niger, Borno, Benue, Bauchi and Kwara states, the North depends on federal allocation and deficit financing for development which is unsustainable.

He said the North, under Sardauna of Sokoto, late Sir Ahmadu Bello, was able to “achieve regional parity with other regions then through economic development, unflinching attention to education, agriculture, industry and strategic plans to develop the region economically ensuring food sufficiency.

However,  four decades later things were  no longer as they were as the region is facing poverty, malnutrition, insecurity, unemployment among other challenges.

“We are running political economy of underdevelopment, poverty stands at 67.8 per cent, 47.9 per cent higher than the national average. Population of the North is 92.7 million while that of the South is 80.2 million, over 70 per cent of Northern population in active years are unemployed.

“Under five mortality rate in the North is 15 per cent, the productive capacity is nowhere, industries are moribund, economic activities are at subsistence level. The insecurity ravaging the region is consequence of economics underdevelopment. We have derailed from the path of our founding fathers.  Northern Nigeria requires enormous human and material resources.”

“Vast rural communities in deplorable state, internally generated revenue is insignificant. Between 2010 and 2015 Southern states generated N466.6 billion (82 per cent) as IGR, the 19 Northern states generated N1.4 billion (18 per cent), though Borno and Kaduna states are beginning to up their IGR which  means North depend on Federal allocation and deficit financing for development.”

He said though North was  faced with threats of insurgency, desertification, poverty, underdevelopment and ethno-religious conflicts among others, the region have new opportunities in Federal Government’s new focus on diversifying into agriculture and solid minerals, public-private-partnership and growing realization of the issues by the Northern elites.

He also said that despite weaknesses such as “insecurity, poor governance, over reliance on central government, fatalistic attitude, dilapidated infrastructure, poverty, unemployment and being landlocked, the North had strength in arable land, mineral resources, huge population, low population density, pre and post colonial legacies as well as FCT proximity.”

While explaining the way forward, he said the “North has to establish a regional development planning and coordination agency, revamp and refocus New Nigeria Development Company, promote human capital development, develop a framework for sectoral development, regional integration, publi-private-partnership, promotion of private capital, build infrastructure, boost IGR, promote entrepreneur development and public finance reforms (reduction of leakages).”

Former Nigerian representative to the United Nations and Danmasanin Kano, Dr Yusuf Maitama Sule in his remarks blamed Northern problems on poor leadership. “If we adopt Sardauna style of leadership, all of our problems will be solved. Lack of good leadership is the bane of the challenges in our society.

“In the 60s Nigeria alongside India and Brazil were deemed as the emerging economies to join the developed countries but today India is building shop and manufacturing planes, same with Brazil which has the best agriculture Programme in the world, we have not.

The good leaders of then were followed by by others who threw away the Sardauna values overboard. But I have not lost hope that we will overcome,” he added.